Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 5.428-5.528 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 5.460. The company issued revenue guidance of $6.5 billion-$6.6 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $6.5 billion.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $145.91.

Paychex Stock Up 0.2%

PAYX stock opened at $128.53 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $137.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.99. The stock has a market cap of $46.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex has a twelve month low of $126.13 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,790,000 after purchasing an additional 50,169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.